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Report: Health Takeover to Increase Nation's Tab |
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Written by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
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Friday, 23 April 2010 11:29 |
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President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will increase the nation's health care tab instead of bringing costs down, government economic forecasters concluded Thursday in a sobering assessment of the sweeping legislation.
A report by economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department said the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance -- adding 34 million Americans to the coverage rolls.
But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs. It also warned that Medicare cuts may be unrealistic and unsustainable, driving about 15 percent of hospitals into the red and "possibly jeopardizing access" to care for seniors.
The mixed verdict for Obama's signature issue is the first comprehensive look by neutral experts.
In particular, the warnings about Medicare could become a major political liability for Democratic lawmakers in the midterm elections. Seniors are more likely to vote than younger people and polls show they are already deeply skeptical of the law.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:45 |
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Written by Lara Jakes
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Friday, 23 April 2010 11:04 |
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Baghdad (AP) - A U.S. military jury cleared a Navy SEAL Thursday of failing to prevent the beating of an Iraqi prisoner suspected of masterminding a 2004 attack that killed four American security contractors.
The contractors' burned bodies were dragged through the streets and two were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates river in the former insurgent hotbed of Fallujah, in what became a major turning point in the Iraq war.
The trial of three SEALs, the Navy's elite special forces unit, has outraged many Americans who see it as coddling terrorists.
Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas, 28, of Blue Island, Illinois, was found not guilty by a six-man jury of charges of dereliction of duty and attempting to influence the testimony of another service member. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 04 May 2010 10:08 |
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Dueling Contests Over Regulation |
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Written by Matt Cover & Adam Bitely
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Tuesday, 20 April 2010 18:12 |
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(CNSNews.com) – President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging the public to create video advertisements that explain why federal regulations are "important to everyone."
The contest, which ends May 17, will award $2,500 to the makers of the video that best explains why federal regulations are good and how ordinary citizens can become more involved in making regulations. The videos must be posted on YouTube and can be no more than 60-90 seconds in length.
In the current contest, each video must include the slogan “Let your voice be heard,” and it must direct viewers to the government’s regulatory website www.Regulations.gov. The winning video will then be used by the entire federal government to promote the regulatory process and enhance the public’s participation in it. Meanwhile, Americans for Limited Government/NetRight Nation and the Fr33 Agents Network have announced that they will host their own contest. The reward is $2,500 not stolen from the tax payers. Here are the rules to enter: |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 May 2010 10:39 |
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Noncompliance and Lawsuits Worry Census |
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Written by Hope Yen
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Thursday, 08 April 2010 18:00 |
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Washington (AP) - As the U.S. census nears its final stages, the government is preparing for possible debacles that could derail its $15 billion head count. The pitfalls include mass identity theft and lawsuits as well as homeowners who refuse to answer their doors.
Census Bureau documents, obtained by The Associated Press, underscore the highly fragile nature of the high-stakes population count before the government dispatches some 700,000 temporary workers to visit homes, beginning in May.
The preparedness efforts are not entirely new. Previous censuses had contingency plans in place, at least conceptually, and the Census Bureau has never failed to meet its constitutional mandate of delivering population counts by Dec. 31 each decennial year.
But this is the first time the Census has detailed -- in 300 pages of internal documents released under the Freedom of Information Act -- specific risks to the once-a-decade government count. It's part of the bureau's approach to handling threats that could undermine accuracy, omit large segments of the public or add to already ballooning costs. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 23 April 2010 11:06 |
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ObamaCare Tax Bill's Right Around the Corner |
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Written by Sheldon Richman
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Wednesday, 07 April 2010 17:16 |
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Now that President Obama's health-insurance overhaul has become law, we can brace ourselves for the new taxes. What new taxes? Aren't they only on the "rich" and on large companies? It's true that the Obama plan includes new taxes on upper-income people. For example, the Medicare tax will now be applied to investment income. People making more than $200,000, will now have to pay a 2.9Â percent tax on investment income over that limit. For people earning salaries of more than $200,000, their payroll tax will rise from 1.45 to 2.35Â percent on the amount over that limit. (The so-called employer's share will remain the same.) All told, the new Medicare taxes are projected to take in $184 billion by 2019, although that assumes the tax targets are stationary and unable to take evasive action. That is highly doubtful. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 23 April 2010 11:06 |
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Page 7 of 39 |
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